Knobs are commonly used on a variety of commercial and residential appliances to control an operating condition of the appliance. Knobs are particularly common on cooking appliances, such as stoves or cooktops. Various shapes and sizes can be used depending upon e.g., the intended application, aesthetics, and other factors.
For example, cooktops traditionally have at least one heating element positioned at a cooktop surface for use in heating or cooking an object, such as a cooking utensil, and its contents. The at least one heating element may heat a cooking utensil directly through induction heating, or may use another heat source such as electrically resistant coils or gas burners. In gas burner cooktops, air is required for the combustion of the gas fuel. For that reason, some gas burner cooktops have air intake openings to allow for a sufficient amount of air intake to meet the combustion requirements of the gas burners. These openings are sometimes located beneath the knobs. When this is the case, some gas cooktops have lights installed below air intake openings located underneath the knobs so that the light may shine through the openings and communicate certain conditions to the user such as e.g., whether the knob is in an “on” position.
Certain challenges exist with this construction, however. Such construction, for example, may allow for spills or other contaminates to reach, e.g., components positioned below the knob. In the case of an electric cook top appliance, such spills could damage relatively sensitive electrical components.
Accordingly, an improved heating element control assembly that can illuminate a portion of the knob and/or surface such as the surface of a cooking surface while preventing spills or other contaminates from getting below the surface of the appliance would be beneficial.